New York State Trooper Edgar Crosswell was directing a phalanx of officers toward the Barbara mansion. Costello, in fact, had been literally invited to bring slot machine business into Louisiana by then-Governor Huey Long. His operation was a healthy one with some 66 drops or booking joints in the New Orleans area. Gaining considerable political influence within New Orleans, Carollo is said to have used his connections when, in 1929, Al Capone supposedly traveled to the city demanding Carollo supply the Chicago Outfit (rather than Chicago's Sicilian Mafia boss Joe Aiello) with imported alcohol. Until recently, distribution of obscene materials to Dallas 12 or so major bookstores and movie houses was thought to be controlled by Mike Thevis, an Atlanta-based operator believed to be among the three largest pornography distributors in the nation. Described as a used car salesman, Hicks began dope smuggling in the wake of the Vietnam war. Other officers simply say, Italians tend to know one another. WHAT THE MOB KNEW ABOUT JFK'S MURDER - The Washington Post Apalachin and Joe Civello, of course, made Decker less than prophetic. The casino, run by a federal informant, was apparently being used by various law enforcement agencies as a lure for gangland types. Despite the burst of revelations, confessions and official Congressional inquiries into La Cosa Nostra during the late Fifties and early Sixties, the Mafia still operates half in the shadows, in many cases, on both sides of the law. Joseph Civello lay low after the Ap-alachin bust in 1957, surfacing only to appeal and win a reversal on Apalachin-related perjury charges in 1961. And Marcello didnt make his admission of guilt until he was serving a long prison sentence as a result of an FBI sting called BRILAB. Pascal was the manager of an illegal gambling business while Vincent was to oversee the operations of the Jefferson Music Company. Cost to taxpayers: $5 million. New Orleans Aaron Kohn once said, Organized crime often is subtle and insidious. For the first time, the Cosa Nostra was real a fact which would be reaffirmed with brutal frankness the next year when Mafia operative Joe Valachi went public with the who, what, why and where of the organization in his famous Valachi Papers. This individual had established associations with certain members of the Marcello family; that had been traced through phone tolls from his business to several Marcello-related businesses in New Orleans, through trips he and his family had taken to Louisiana, through the three Marcello associates and two Marcello family members who turned up at his sons wedding in 1974. When the appropriate levee construcvolving nine front companies, and the co-operation of local tax authorities. His organizations interests range from simple book-making to complex real estate investments. He, Costello and another mobster, Frank Kastel, built a lavish casino known as the Beverly Country Club; Marcello money would eventually back another casino called the Old Southport Club. This is where laying off comes in. By this time, Marcello had been selected as "The Godfather" of the New Orleans Mafia, by the family's capos and the National Crime Syndicate after the deportation of Sylvestro "Silver Dollar Sam" Carollo to Sicily. Intelligence officers, with the exception of the FBI, operate with few tools. If and when he sees his file, it doesnt take long for him to figure out who said what to whom. Nine cards were obtained under a variety of phony names. In this way, a big bookie can be an associate of the Marcello family without knowing anyone in New Orleans on a first name basis. That, coupled with the state of confusion the organization found itself in, had made the New York capos ascension to the throne inevitable. Carlos Marcello Takes A Vacation: The Little Man's Deportation to Thevis was convicted on nine counts of transporting obscene materials through interstate commerce in November, 1971; he was indicted in San Antonio on similar charges along with 34 other individuals including four Dallas men in 1973. Sports wagering being, at the minimum, a regional business, Marcello needed trusted associates in his outposts to keep an eye on things. James ("the Weasel") Fratianno, a high-level mobster in San Francisco, rarely goes anywhere without two . [26] In September 1995, Carollo pleaded guilty to a single count of racketeering conspiracy, with associates Frank Gagliano, Joseph Gagliano, Felix Riggio III, and Cade Carber.[27]. Like any smart businessman, he has al-ways considered expansion and diversification to outpost cities like Dallas a part of the natural growth of his business. Carlos was born in the year 1910 in a Northern Africa country, Tunisia. It is doubtful even a dealer of Hicks stature had direct ties to the Marcello family, however. Marcello, one of the most powerful and sophisticated mob bosses in the nation, had wisely stayed away from Apalachin; strapped with a 1953 deportation order and other legal troubles, the 47-year-old Sicilian feared such a foray from his Louisiana fortress would overexpose him to federal authorities. Released in 1934, Carollo negotiated a deal with New York mobsters Frank Costello and Phillip "Dandy Phil" Kastel, as well as Louisiana Senator Huey Long, to bring slot machines into Louisiana, following New York Mayor Fiorello LaGuardia's attacks on organized crime. Those who heard or saw the strange procession of limousines that day had to wonder where they came from and where they were going: No funeral or parade was scheduled for that Thursday morning; and the dead of November was hardly tourist season in rural New York. Born Calogero Minacore to Sicilian parents who immigrated to the United States when he was an infant and settled near Metairie, Louisiana, renaming him Carlos Marcello. 350 5th Ave, New York, NY 10118, USA. And because most of his present activity in Dallas is believed to be quasi-legitimate real estate investment, he has no need for a local operator of Civellos stature. Still, the incident was something of a shock to a nation that had heard rumors and speculation about this secret criminal network for years, but had never witnessed its scope in such a tangible way. Bobby had CM kidnapped from his office in New Orleans, . According to Life Magazine,[5] he was asked to return by Marcello, who needed him to mediate disputes within the New Orleans Mafia. Hicks operation was sophisticated, employing 12 couriers and an intricate smuggling scheme between Bangkok and Dallas. Even in the Thirties and Forties, when some 27 casinos, scores of numbers and bookmaking rackets, prostitution rings and narcotics smuggling operations flourished in the city, the Mafia had not gained a significant foothold. Aaron Kohn, director of the New Orleans Metropolitan Crime Commission and the most widely recognized Marcello expert in the nation, calls him the most powerful, influential and sinister racketeer boss in Louisiana.. As Crosswell and his men charged the gathering from all sides, some dozen of the gangsters broke for the thick woods surrounding the estate; others jumped in their cars and tried to run roadblocks Cross-well had placed about the estate; still others simply stood paralyzed by the sneak attack. The flashy, gregarious sort, Caterine was always fast with a buck and openly proud of his wide range of friends, particularly those in show business. But in the early Seventies, the following incidents tended to confirm that Marcello was still quite active in the Dallas area: Marcellos connections elsewhere in Texas have been no less sketchy and elusive. The arrest blotter was laced with big names like Genovese, De Simone of Los Angeles, Colletti of Colorado, Traf-ficante of Florida, Profaci, Scalish and Ida of New York and Bonnano of Arizona. In 1958, for example, he managed to sell a 183-acre parcel of land that had recently been valued at $40,000 for nearly $1 million. Heres how it works: A bookie like Miller makes his money off juice or vigorish a 10 percent commission or penalty fee he charges losing bettors. However, the charges were later dropped. That tough-talking street thug whod dealt dope with Carrollos gang in the Thirties was now a suave, soft-spoken businessman who wore $300 suits, smoked expensive cigars and donated lavishly to local charities. Those invaders who earlier found themselves staring down the barrel of a gun upon crossing the county line now faced the prospect of a stern and uncompromising lecture from Sheriff Bill Decker. Five countries were tried and discarded, before Marcello solved their problem for them. Carrollo was the latest in a long line of Mafia chieftains who ruled crime in the Gulf Coast city, part of a legacy that stretched back to the infamous Black Hand gangs of the 1890s. He pleaded the Fifth Amendment 152 times. He was 75. That has made many previous valuable snitches button their lips for fear of reprisal from the criminals in question. No criminal becomes as large and independent as Carlos Marcello without the complicity of law enproblem: They couldnt find another nation that wanted Marcello. For while organized crime had existed in the city since the outlaw gangs of the 19th century, the Mafia had always been kept at bay. In New Orleans, the wire was controlled by one John Fogarty, who fronted smooth the gangsters rough edges: taught him, as Kohn puts it, to operate with a handshake instead of handcuffs.. who by now had learned the art of gentle persuasion from Costello, decided the best way to handle Fogarty was to become his partner. He first brought in Joe Por-etto, an associate from Houston, to set up a competing booking operation; Por-ettos front was Southern News and Publishing. IN 1963, only weeks after JFK was killed, the FBI questioned 14 Marcello mob associates. As Marcellos business enterprise grew more legitimate, so did his public demeanor. Boston is owner and manager of Stardust Sportsbook in Las Vegas, reputed to be the largest sports wagering parlor in the world. The Marcello family was on its way to becoming one of the largest and most independent organized crime operations in the nation. The Marcello operatives were reportedly very ingratiating, though the Sportspage people eventually swore off the negotiation because they thought they might wind up with some unwanted silent partners. It was not prize property, primarily delta swamp and mire. Terms of Use Probably the biggest dealer snared by the law in recent memory is Joe Hicks, a heroin/cocaine smuggler who some law enforcement officials believe supplied 50 percent of the hard drugs to the black community here. want the truth - Google Groups Additionally, investigators discovered that Carlos himself had been on the companys payroll as a $20,000-a-year salesman. As Marcellos power and financial independence grew, so did his influence over forcement officials. Indeed, it is likely in the aforementioned example that Mike Miller would have an overload of betting for Dallas say, $80,000 on the Cowboys and $20,000 on the Red-skins. We don't have much information about He's past relationship and any previous engaged. But this indicates to me that these mobsters, who were involved in JFKs plot to get rid of Castro, were rubbed out by Marcello associates simply because they seemed to be helping the Kennedys. Described as a used car salesman, Hicks began dope smuggling in the wake of the Vietnam war. Mob Boss Carlos Marcello's House (former) - Virtual Globetrotting Fortunately for him, Carlos was released after the robbery conviction was overturned. Even New Orleans District Attorney Jim Garrison, of Kennedy assassination fame, could not come up with anything on Marcello during a series of grand jury investigations in the Sixties. As long as his bets are even, he can pay his winners with the cash collections from his losers, then rake off his 10 percent free and clear. Thevis was convicted on nine counts of transporting obscene materials through interstate commerce in November, 1971; he was indicted in San Antonio on similar charges along with 34 other individuals including four Dallas men in 1973. The New Orleans crime family or New Orlean Mafia was an Italian-American Mafia crime family based in the city of New Orleans. When he simple armed robbery. By cutting, or diluting it twice, he could produce four kilos of respectable 25 percent heroin. The extent of Thevis involvement here remains something of a mystery, but the bottom line of his Atlanta operations is exemplary: On a typical day, Thevis 10 different enterprises in a block-and-a-half area of Atlanta could gross $3 million. The evidence was sketchy, more circumstantial than concrete, but it pointed down an interesting road. Those familiar with the ways of Carlos Marcello should not have been surprised that his tentacles reached as far as Dallas, Texas. The hoods never knew what hit them. "Silver Dollar Sam" Carollo led the New Orleans crime family transforming predecessor Charles Matranga's Black Hand gang into a modern organized crime group. The dumpy, 5 1 gangster, affectionately known as the Little Man, is generally recognized as the first Mafia head to refine organized crime into a conglomerate-style business. As the Fifties turned to the Sixties, federal enforcement of bookmak-ing and narcotics smuggling became tougher, making involvement in such interests a riskier proposition. In the late Sixties, he even agreed to answer the questions of a Senate committee, though his responses were tion and pump installation had been accomplished, Marcello had aggrandized the value of the swamp property by 6,000 percent. By 1953, the Marcello conglomerate was easily large enough to be listed on the New York Stock Exchange. That facade of legitimacy, more than anything else, has allowed Marcello to build an empire of incomprehensible proportions. Overnight, official policies toward the local gangsters changed. Employing a corps of lawyers and front men to mask his investments, Marcello began investing in motels, including two Holiday Inns in Louisiana, and bought up raw land in the state in thousand-acre hunks. Born in Calabria, Italy, Iannis biggest run-in with the law was a 1946 liquor law violation. While the coin-machine business was lucrative to Marcello and his brothers, this early association with Costello would later prove valuable in another way: Cos-tello taught young Carlos the ways of the world of organized crime. Often described as the "Cornbread Cosa Nostra," the Dixie Mafia first emerged in the American South in the 1960s. Intelligence officers indicate that if big narcotics dealers have any relationship to the New Orleans mob, it might be through front money for large narcotics operations. Caterine, now serving 27 months for a conviction on credit card swindling, was known to be a character of diverse interests. The family was unbeatable especially by the fact the fact that it had the support of almost every personality from various legal sectors of the nation (Jones). Within months, a "merger" had been consummated between Fogarty and Poretto, with Carlos' brothers Anthony and Joseph owning nearly 80 percent on behalf of Carlos. Marcello died at his home in Metairie after being cared for by his family during his final years. In 1938, he was busted for transport and sale of some 23 pounds of marijuana. Receiving tribute payments from Italian laborers and dockworkers, as well as from the Provenzano family (who came from the same village), they eventually began moving in on Provenzano fruit loading operations intimidating the Provenzanos with threats of violence. There, some 35 associates of the Little Man have been identified. Carlos passed away on month day 1993, at age 83 at death place, Louisiana. On a chilly, windy November 14 in 1957, a mysterious motorcade of Cadillacs and Lincolns snaked through the sleepy upstate New York village of Apalachin. The regional booking headquarters such as New Orleans, in turn, leased phone or teletype lines linking each other: Bettors in New York could wager on New Orleans races, and vice versa. The 1972 Freedom of Information Act, passed by Congress in early reaction to Watergate revelations concerning illegal domestic surveillance, has severely hampered development of intelligence through snitches. But an association is well, an association: It can mean anything from a mild social acquaintance to a working relationship. In March, 1973, a well-known Texas/Louisiana drug pusher, Andre AugustCrossley, was arrested for possession ofdangerous drugs. The committee was unable to identify the other gunmen or the extent of the conspiracy", "AROUND THE NATION; Trial Opens in New Orleans For Reputed Mafia Leader", "ALLEGED UNDERWORLD LEADER IS ASSAILED AT BRIBERY TRIAL", "U.S. TO PLAY MORE TAPES AT LOUISIANA BRIBERY TRAIL", "Ex-Louisiana Aide Acquitted in Bribery Trial", "Charges in Louisiana on video poker probe", "LOUISIANA 'CRIME FAMILY' MEMBERS PLEAD GUILTY IN VIDEO POKER CASE", "Salvatore Matranga, New Orleans 1896 Nov 15", LAM: A Site Dedicated to the History of the Louisiana Mafia, David "Blackie" Steece - The True Narrative of a Real Street Man - New Orleans Gangster Turned Law Enforcer, Carlos Marcello: Big Daddy in the Big Easy, Sylvestro Carollo: Will the Real "Silver Dollar Sam" Please Stand Up, The American "Mafia": Who Was Who? Restrictions against wiretapping are part of the rub, but in recent years, a new problem has emerged. In retrospect, this is probably where Carlos Marcellos interests expanded to Houston and Dallas. Between 400 and 500 Mexican dealers structured around families like the Mafia families of New York and Chicago- smuggle about $1 billion worth of heroin, cocaine and marijuana into Texas each year. Marcello had been known to be one of Louisianas major narcotics peddlers during this period. For Dallas, the Apalachin affair was its own kind of shock: After all, here was a young, vigorous city that prided itself on its safe streets and clean City Hall. [22] The charges were the result of a Federal Bureau of Investigation probe known as BriLab. Furthermore, it has thrown the entire business of intellegence gathering into a state of confusion. The roots of organized crime here are homegrown; and in some sense, the underworld in Dallas remains that way. They had one child. In July of that same year, Dallas police busted a sophisticated hijacking/fencing ring. This essay explores the family of Carlos Marcello with special focus on its traditional and non-traditional organized crime family structures covering its leaders and legitimacy of its activities and interests. Though Marcellos earlier narcotics activities undoubtedly brought him and Joseph Civello together, the booking wire likely cemented the association. This triggered a series of events that would eventually lead to the iconic revolutionary leaders death in Bolivia. Carlos Marcello was arrested on Friday April 21 in Guatemala City. The flashy, gregarious sort, Caterine was always fast with a buck and openly proud of his wide range of friends, particularly those in show business. New Orleans Aaron Kohn once said, Organized crime often is subtle and insidious. Collection and payment completed, he was prepared immediately to accept wagers on the next race. Dallas is not known as a major center for users, but rather as a stopover point, a distribution center for Los Angeles, Denver, Chicago and New York. Carlos Marcello, the Man Behind the JFK Assassination. Don't call it The hoodlums destination was the $100,000, 18-room EnglishTudor estate of Frank Barbara, a ranking lieutenant in one of the Cosa Nostras dozen major families. He died in 1993 but the family still controls real estate business in Southern Louisiana. The crime family Carlos inherited was a successful mixture of gangsters, policeman on the pad and corrupt politicians. [7] A series of setbacks during the 1980s reduced its clout, and law enforcement dismantled most of what remained shortly after Marcello's death in 1993. As cash from the bookmaking operation began to flow in, Marcello diversified his interests. 7,427, This story has been shared 6,501 times. Jefferson Music was one of the few locations where Carlos Marcello himself was known to take phone calls. For even as the Mafia heads were chatpolitics, they did respect and fear him. Marcello . By 1918, Carollo had become a high-ranking member of Matranga's organization, eventually succeeding him following Matranga's retirement in 1922. These were the words of Carlos Marcello, the Mafia godfather of Louisiana and Texas. The American Saga of Carlos Marcello | Bayou Brief Still, he would occasionally provide flashes of his earlier, more violent personality: In 1966, he was nabbed at a Cosa Nostra convention in Forest Hills, New York along with dozens of other mobsters. A schematic of the nationwide wire system shows a direct link from New in the city. Anyone who has lived in Dallas for any length of time has heard the rumors about the Mafia here. Marcello quickly became a valuable part of that organization, though his troubles with the law continued. In Marcellos case, the co-opting of the other side started early: During his slot machine days, the Marcello organization used the sheriff of Jefferson Parish a suburban area across the river from New Orleans to strong-arm local club owners into using Marcello-owned machines. Second, a new business opportunity presented itself to Marcello, an enterprise that would form the foundation of his criminal empire: off-track bookmaking. Garrisons final conclusion was that no evidence of organized crime in New Orleans Parish existed. In 1971, Caterine and several associates set up a bogus bartending school to use as a reference in obtaining credit cards. Scott, Peter Dale and Marshall, Jonathan. All of this, compared to his earlier activities, seemed on the ud and up. 1880-1881: Vincenzo Rebello deported to Italy in 1881. He served fewer than five, managing to secure a pardon from Louisiana Gov. The murder of Hennessey created a huge backlash from the city and, although Charles and several members of the Matrangas were arrested, they were eventually tried and acquitted in February 1891 with Charles Matranga and a 14-year-old member acquitted midway through the trial as well as four more who were eventually acquitted and three others released in hung juries. In Irving, where pornography has boomed off and on for the past 10 years, three different organizations are believed to control distribution, including one group wth ties to a New York mob family. Carrollos stock in trade at the time was narcotics smuggling: His dope ring was known to be the largest marijuana smuggling apparatus in the New Orleans area. He died March 3 1993. "The Mighty, Mighty Hands of Mayor Tom Leppert". In his real estate activities, Marcello quickly became a master at combining illicit money, the cooperation of public officialdom, and legitimate investment. In turn, he can accept lay offs from other books to build up the light side of the line. Charles Matranga, The American "Mafia" New Orleans Crime Bosses, List of Italian-American mobsters by organization, Collaborations between the United States government and Italian Mafia, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=New_Orleans_crime_family&oldid=1130183821, Organizations disestablished in the 2000s, Articles needing additional references from April 2010, All articles needing additional references, Pages using infobox criminal organization with ethnicity or ethnic makeup parameters, Pages using infobox criminal organization with rivals parameter, Articles with unsourced statements from February 2016, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, c. 1860-1869: Raffaele Agnello murdered on April 1, 1869, 1869-1872: Joseph Agnello murdered on April 20, 1872, 1872-1891: Joseph P. Macheca lynched on March 14, 1891, 1891-1922: Charles Matranga retired, died on October 28, 1943, 1922-1944: Corrado Giacona - died on July 25, 1944, 1983-1990: Joseph Marcello Jr. stepped down due to inability to control his organization, c. 1860-1869: Joseph Agnello became boss. So what? More recently, speculation has centered on newer blood. Carlos Marcello (1910-1993) - Find a Grave Memorial In spite of this, it is believed that at least some elements of the American Mafia remain active in New Orleans today.[8][9]. In 1958, for example, he managed to sell a 183-acre parcel of land that had recently been valued at $40,000 for nearly $1 million. This turned out to be his office for the rest of his criminal career. Even New Orleans District Attorney Jim Garrison, of Kennedy assassination fame, could not come up with anything on Marcello during a series of grand jury investigations in the Sixties. Prominent Jefferson Parish landowner sells $13.5 million tract to levee If New Orleans and Marcello retain a link to sports wagering in Dallas, it is through this lay off ritual. As with bookmaking, narcotics dealers know where the big money is if they need it. In 1938, he was busted for transport and sale of some 23 pounds of marijuana. Specifically, the mob leaders had come to soothe the inter-family hostilities stirred by the recent gangland-style execution of New York mobster Albert Anastasia. I sometimes dont know what I can put into a file and what I cant these days, says one high-ranking official. Hicks operation was sophisticated, employing 12 couriers and an intricate smuggling scheme between around families like the Mafia families of New York and Chicago- smuggle about $1 billion worth of heroin, cocaine and marijuana into Texas each year. area gambling bosses, including Frank Vaci, known to be an associate of Marcello. Basically, through bribing telephone company employees, phone or teletype lines were set up between New Orleans area race tracks and various drops his booking under the name of The Daily Sports News.
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